BRIDGEPORT — His pro debut was going to wait, but when a spot opened up in the Bridgeport Sound Tigers’ opening-night lineup, Scott Eansor got the late call.

“I prepared like I was playing,” Eansor said Tuesday after practice. “Ate healthy, slept.”

John Stevens wasn’t able to go with an upper-body injury (he remains day to day). Eansor got word at the morning skate. He took over Stevens’ place as third-line center. By game’s end, he had moved up in the lineup and scored Bridgeport’s only goal in a 2-1 loss at Binghamton.

“Once you’re in the lineup, it’s great. It’s a good opportunity,” Eansor said.

“I (tried to look at it) as another game. I’ve played on big stages over the past few years.”

Eansor was the Seattle Thunderbirds’ captain last year as they won the Western Hockey League championship and played for the Memorial Cup, Canada’s major-junior championship. The Thunderbirds reached the WHL final in 2016, too.

He went to summer development camp with the New York Islanders and signed an AHL contract while he was there.

Sound Tigers coach Brent Thompson noticed a similarity to an Islanders centerman who came up through Bridgeport.

“What I see is a Casey Cizikas-type player,” Thompson said. “With his work ethic and attention to detail, you can rely on him in all three zones.”

After development camp, Eansor went home to the Denver area and worked with his trainer there, Carson Lemon

“We really worked on strength this summer. We only had a limited time with the long playoff run,” Eansor said.

“I worked on my hands, worked on my shot.”

Saturday, Eansor drew a couple of Devils penalties. In the third period, he cut across the front of the net and redirected in Mitchell Vande Sompel’s feed on his backhand.

“It was really cool. Vandy made a nice play to the net,” Eansor said. “I was playing with some great players.”

That combination stuck in Tuesday’s practice, a line with Travis St. Denis and Casey Bailey.

“(Eansor) is an engine. He works extremely hard,” Thompson said. “With his skill set and hockey sense, he complements that line. He’s tenacious on the forecheck. He got that goal.”

But, as Eansor lamented, they didn’t get the win.

“It’s good, but it’s a long season. I honestly tried to forget about it 30 minutes after the game,” Eansor said. “I realize how many games we’ve got, how competitive this league is.”

ONE MORE: The AHL announced Tuesday that it will expand to Loveland, Colo., next season. The Colorado Eagles, the organization in Loveland that had been a member of the ECHL, will become the AHL’s 31st franchise, affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche.